Hesher (2011)
Average Rating: 5.7/10
Reviews Counted: 68
Fresh: 37 | Rotten: 31
It has a dark sense of humor and a refreshing lack of sentimentality, but like its title character, Hesher isn't really interested in going anywhere.
Average Rating: 5.6/10
Critic Reviews: 27
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 14
It has a dark sense of humor and a refreshing lack of sentimentality, but like its title character, Hesher isn't really interested in going anywhere.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 18,147
My Rating
Movie Info
Loud music. Pornography. Burning **** to the ground. These are a few of Hesher's favorite things. And they are what Hesher (Joseph Gordon Levitt) brings into the lives of TJ (Devin Brochu) and his father, Paul (Rainn Wilson) when he takes up residence in their garage uninvited. Grief-stricken by the loss of TJ's mother in a car accident, Paul can't muster the strength to evict the strange squatter, and soon the long-haired, tattooed Hesher becomes a fixture in the household. Like a force of
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Cast
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Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Hesher -
Natalie Portman
Nicole -
Rainn Wilson
Paul Forney -
Devin Brochu
TJ -
Piper Laurie
Madeleine Forney -
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Brendan Hill
Dustin -
Paul Bates
Mr. Elsberry -
Biff Yaeger
Counselor -
Frank Collison
Funeral Director
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Hesher Trailer & Photos
All Critics (68) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (31) | DVD (3)
Happily, Hesher never lays things out too clearly. Just as you never know where he came from, it's hard to grasp where he's going, or even what he's doing in the moment. But you know he fits somewhere. And that's satisfaction enough.
Top CriticGordon-Levitt is a sly and inventive actor, and it can be genuinely fun to watch him having so much fun. But this character wears out his welcome fast.
Rather than a character rooted in some sort of reality -- social, satirical, psychological, take your pick -- Hesher is an abstract notion animated by false energy.
Bad role models sometimes make the most interesting movie characters.
Unlike many films that hope to be called black comedy, it does not skimp on either the black or the comedy.
At a future date, when some grad student writes a thesis on 'Wild Men of the Subconscious in Popular Culture,' there will certainly be a special place for 'Hesher.' Just as long as it stays there and is never in front of my eyes again.
The great transfer should please fans of this well-meaning, mixed-up movie. But the extras suck.
Fortunately, there's enough humor in all this to counteract the exploitation of weird logic and audacious coincidence.
Susser cowrote the script, which relies on moments of profanity and impulsive violence to elicit terse little laughs and a melodramatic backstory to signal emotional resonance.
Powered by a character at once original and representational, Hesher courses with a unique verve missing in many independent productions, hovering somewhere between outright success and 'interesting failure.'
Since [Gordon-Levitt's] one of the most energetic and inventive young actors in the business, you can't take your eyes off him. Unfortunately, the quality of the material makes you wish you could.
Headbangs straight into your heart.
While it arrives decorated with cooler hair and a louder soundtrack, it still sticks to the "Unusual Outsider Teaches Middle-Class People What It Means to Really Live" template.
Gordon-Levitt ... gets to play the opposite of his usual put-upon nice-guy roles - and he runs with it, to the point of making Hesher downright scary a lot of the time. The rest of the cast keeps up with him, in their less flashy roles.
The strength of Hesher is its acting. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is back to drawing on his natural power as an actor. He's skilled at creating absorbing human trainwrecks.
... a promising concept gradually morphs into a predictable indie flick.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt must be especially glad for this film to see the light of day, because his performance is award-worthy, a complete inhabiting of as unique a personality as you'll encounter in film.
...darkly funny and refreshingly blunt, giving a big middle finger to conventionality, and offering a rebel yell that's hard to ignore.
Some indie films seem to exist as exercises in strangeness, just to see how far they can go-and how long audiences will watch before screaming and running up the aisles. I stuck with Hesher till...
Director/co-scenarist Spencer Susser has a definite feel for Hesher and T.J.'s little corner of the world.
Like a knock-off of Chuck Palahniuk produced by people raised only on Sundance films, "Hesher" is a mess.
Hesher himself [is] a mysterious, magnetic, repellent, and alluring figure... It's quite an astonishing performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
In his feature directorial debut, Spencer Susser establishes a deadpan, lost, grungy quality, the perfect place where a creature like Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) might have evolved.
Audience Reviews for Hesher
Super Reviewer
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is awesome as Hesher. It's the kind of performance that reallly allows a performer to cut loose and just do something really out there. It's a great performance, though it feels like the film is mostly relying on him to carry it. That's kinda the biggest issue with the film. It's got some great ideas and a cool concept, but the way it is done leaves a lot to be desired. The other performances are good, however, they're all underwritten, even Hesher. It would have been better had there been more backstory and depth with the characters,because they deserve to have more known about them.
I was torn on how to rate this one. It does have the script issues, and it does start to fall apart towards the end, yet, Levitt is awesome, there's some crazy stuff on display, and it's really not all that predictable at times. It can be uncomfortable at times, but it does come around in the end. I'll just give it the benefit of the doubt and give it a mild pass, though it really does need some work.
Super Reviewer
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- TJ: What the fuck you doing?
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- TJ: What is wrong with you?
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- Hesher: What's green, slimy, and smells like bacon?
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- Hesher: You lost your wife, You lost your mom, I lost a nut.
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- Hesher: I got a doctor's appointment. It burns when I urinate.
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- Madeleine Forney: Life is like walking in the rain... you can hide and take cover or you can just get wet.
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| Heher - not worth 20% of the time it takes to watch it. | 3 months ago | 1 |
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